1439. NIMBY Syndrome - A polluting generator with an exhaust pipe at the back of Toa Payoh Vets

Friday
March 31, 2013

After assuring me that the company would relocate this generator with a blue-smoke exhaust pipe away from the space between the back of my surgery and the restaurant's cooking area, the Filipino staff installed a 10-foot high pipe to re-direct the smoke upwards to the 2nd floor.

"This should be OK," he said.
The smoke is now more visible and the air blew it into the units in floor one.
"I was told that the unit will be relocated just yesterday by the managing agent but obviously, this company has no intention of doing it."

The smoke had drifted into the back of the surgery and into the kitchen of the restaurant. I do eat in this restaurant. But nobody cares about eating polluted food. 20-30 years many Singapore cars and lorries emit such blue smoke from the exhaust pipes but now you seldom see any. But this generator does it. It would be at least 2 months of smoke. Imagine yourself breathing such smoke from the vehicle's exhaust pipe for a few hours a day.

The managing agent, the contractor and the supplier of this generator would be the parties involved.They did not see the effects of the smoke on the kitchen cooking, poisoning the staff and food for the workers.

I followed up again and again. The supplier wanted to meet me at 11 am today to "seek my solution" but was tardy. I had to postpone one surgery to wait for him. The Filipino man said that he would get a crane and relocate the generator by Monday 12 noon. The long black pipe to re-direct the smoke was not long enough and in any case, the smoke just settled downwards again.

NIMBY means "not in my backyard" happens to everybody. If the company can erect a pipe 10 stories high, it may be possible to resolve this problem, not just 10 feet high. Electricity generators are smoky but are there ones with no smoke? Just like the cars, buses and lorries in Singapore nowadays?